Series 01: William Olson personal and literary papers, ca. 1905, 1915, ca. 1930-1975

MLMSS 7945/Boxes 1-4
MLMSS 7945/Box 5X

series

ca. 1905, 1915, ca. 1930-1975

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Clippings, Photographs

887691

0.75 metres of textual material (4 boxes, 1 outsize box), some folders contain photographs

BOX 1
Folder 1: ‘Early Years’, ca. 1930-1961, being mainly personal documents, newcuttings,and photographs of Olson as a young boy and of A. H. Hough, Newcastle Manager, North Coast Steam Navigation Co. Ltd.

Folder 2: Papers, 1951-1974, being mainly correspondence, newscuttings and passports and promotional material for Newswire: News and Information Service. Correspondents include Jim Macdougall, 1960; Maxwell Newton, 1962; G. J. Dusseldorp, 1963; Walter Murdoch, 1966; R. W. Askin, 1962, 1965; Albert W. Thompson, 1960; Julian Rusiecki, 1965

Folder 3: Correspondence and related papers, 1940-1973. Correspondents include Walter Murdoch, 1970, Rupert Murdoch, 1960, 1970; Pino Bosi, 1970; R. W. Askin, 1971; George Greenfield (John Farquharson Ltd), 1970; Neilson McCarthy Australia Pty. Ltd., 1971; Brian White, 1970; with writings by Olson, including the article ‘Eric Baume’s Ghost’, Nation, 6 May 1967

Folder 4: Papers mainly relating to employment with P & O Lines of Australia Pty. Ltd., 1953-1974, including correspondence and photographs, with letters received by Ruth Olson, 1975-1978

Folder 5: Miscellaneous papers, 1966, no date, including notes on newspaper executive, Rupert Henderson, and photograph of Max Anderson at his home in Mildura viewing a cloth chart of the Murray River

Folder 6: Printed material, including guides to the Mitchell Library manuscripts and picture collections, 1966-1967, and issue of Splashes Weekly, 18 Feb. 1915

Folder 7: Printed material and newscuttings, 1954, 1961-1974, with corrected typescript of ‘Mr. and Mrs. O’Shanaughessy’, no date

Folder 8: Photographs, ca. 1905, 1945-ca. 1975, including Olson on service with 11 Aust. Small Ships Coy, A.I.F., 1945-1946; on news reporting assignments, including 7th British Empire and Commonwealth Games, Perth, W.A., 1962; overseas for P & O Lines of Australia; with Bill Adams [J. H. Adams] (The Sun, Syd.) on H.M.A.S. Sydney (III), 14 Oct. 1949; as member of Sun-Mirror rugby league team, Rushcutters Bay Park, 11 Sept. 1955; and at social functions

Nicholl’s Concise Guide to the Board of Trade Navigation Examinations All Grades Volume 1, 1944 / Charles H. Brown, being copy used by Olson on service with 11 Aust. Small Ship Coy, A.I.F.

BOX 2
Writings by Olson in Folders 1-12:

Folder 1: Typescripts of stories gathered for Olson’s proposed book, Rower in the Gallery, 1971

Folder 2: Corrected typescript of Topman, 1972, being a novel about a young man’s rise to the top in Australian business

Folder 3: ‘DCN’, 1974-1975, being typescripts and carbon typescripts of transport column for Daily Commercial News and Shipping List

Folder 4: ‘Poetry’, 1969-1975, including published and unpublished verse by Olson, and letter received from Ken Slessor, 9 June 1970

Folder 5: Articles on mass communications, and commissioned work, 1968-1974

Folder 6: ‘Port of Sydney’, being draft articles, including ‘The Port of Sydney’ for Walkabout Magazine

Folder 7: Drafts of articles and book reviews, 1970-1975

Folder 8: Newscuttings of articles, 1962-1973, and synopses of two proposed books, 1970, being an untitled book about people, the sea and ships, and the other titled Rower in the Gallery, being a collection of essays and stories originally published in The Australian and Pol

Folder 9: ‘Poetry’, being further published and unpublished verse

Folder 10: Articles, 1972-1975; corporate history, being Vicars: The First 100 Years in Australia - 1873-1973; and address to Customs Agents Association, Thredbo, N.S.W. 11 Nov. 1972

Folder 11: Articles on West Germany for The Australian, 1965

Folder 12: Articles for magazines and newspapers, 1965-1974, including drafts and newscuttings

BOX 3
Writings by Olson in Folders 1-10:

Folder 1: Articles for magazines and newspapers, 1945-1975, including drafts and newscuttings

Folder 2: ‘ABC Broadcast’, 1972-1975, being stories written for the Australian Broadcasting Commission and Radio Australia

Folder 3: Stories written for Radio Australia, 1972-1973

Folder 4: The Passing Show columns for The Australian, 1965

Folder 5: The Passing Show columns for The Australian, 1965-1966, being mainly newscuttings

Folder 6: Drafts of articles for Pol Magazine

Folder 7: ‘Guardian – London’, 1971, being articles for the Guardian, with letter received from Ian Wright, Foreign Editor, 28 June 1971, and correspondence with Prince Yurke Galitzine (Galitzine and Partners Ltd, Public Relations Consultants), 1970 relating to Newswire

Folder 8: Newscuttings of newspaper articles, 1965-1973

Folder 9: ‘The Surf Riders’, being article on the Surf Life-Saving Association published in BP Shield, Dec. 1969

Folder 10: ‘Newswire’, 1968-1973, being papers, including copy written, mainly relating to business information and news service

BOX 4
Scrapbook of newscuttings of articles and items published in The Daily Mirror, 1946

Scrapbook of newscuttings of articles and items published in The Daily Mirror, 1946-1947

Scrapbook of newscuttings of articles and items relating to shipping published in The Daily Mirror, 1948-1950

Plastic folder of newscuttings of articles published mainly in The Daily Mirror and The Australian, 1951-1973

BOX 5X
Plastic folder of magazine and newspaper articles, and other writings, 1951-1975, including the novel North from Scarlet (2nd edition, 1967) published under the pen name Charles Gibson; with issue of The Leader, West Ryde, N.S.W., 23 July 1957, including article, ‘Japs Blast Ship’ by J. H. Adams